ARTISTIC STATEMENT
I love my TV and my couch. I love my books, legends and myths, and the kernels of truth
that lives in them all. I am intrigued in stories that have been told since the dawn of time and
the reasons we still tell them. As an artist I
am irresistibly drawn by the potential of
communication within every art form
and work towards movement driven, theatrical
experiences that stimulate our perspective and senses from a multitude of angles. Before
humans spoke, we danced. There is an honesty in movement that surpasses reason and can
lead to understanding or glimpses of personal truths.
As a choreographer I am interested in creating work that allows the viewer to be part of
a universal experience that can be interpreted in a personal manner. Our tragedies and comic
happenings, what we celebrate and mourn become our personal legends. Life experiences
become the stuff of dances.
Dance being the medium for my stories I love nothing more than seeing bodies hurling
themselves through space at ninety miles an hour with their hair on fire. Life can be extreme,
and movement should reflect that. Conversely nothing is more moving than a simple,
understated gesture transformed into a moment of virtuosity. A subtle glance can make a soul
sing or crush a spirit. What I’m looking for is a visceral landscape; it is one thing to see the sky
fall, and quite another to fall out of the sky…This is the potential of dance and why audiences
come to the theatre; to take part in the experiential mystery, to be part of something greater
than the self.
My choreography is rooted in the humanistic, highly physical, explorations of modern
dance traditions while exploring the diverse tensions and curiosities of today. I believe it is vital
that artists speak in the context of their own time, utilizing what has come before as points
of departure and sources of context. Our world is a culmination of all that has come before, for
better and for worse, and it is the artists responsibility to not simply report current events but
to shed light on what is now, whilst shining a path forward.
I am a first generation American of Armenian (both parents) ancestry and English is my
second language. When you are raised in two worlds you exist in a perpetual state of “other”. I
am neither Armenian nor American, but I am clearly both. While in some measures this can be
isolating there is also a perspective garnered from a sense of distance and space. So, for
me, dance became the metaphor and lens through which I viewed the world, a means of
connecting with the environment, and creating work that speaks to transformative processes
and connects humanity, regardless of background, culture, or world view.
The theatre is a wonderful place for performers and audiences to discover themselves.
As edgy as art can be there is a very good chance you won’t really get hurt. So in a sense the
theatre becomes a haven where we can look at ourselves and potentially see truths that might
seem threatening in the light of day or the dark of night. It is a place where we live out stories,
